news
Linus Torvalds Announces First Linux Kernel 6.18 Release Candidate
Today marks two weeks since Linux kernel 6.17 was released and the merge window for Linux kernel 6.18 was opened, which means that it is time to test drive the Release Candidate (RC) versions during the next couple of months, the first one being available for download right now from Linus Torvalds’ git tree.
Some of the highlights of Linux kernel 6.18 include initial ‘block size > page size’ support for the Btrfs file system, PTW feature detection on new hardware for LoongArch KVM, support for running the kernel as a guest on FreeBSD’s Bhyve hypervisor, and support for PSP encryption of TCP connections.
Update
In LWN:
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LWN ☛ Linux 6.18-rc1
Two weeks have passed, and 6.18-rc1 has been tagged and pushed out.
Things look fairly normal: size-wise this is pretty much right in the middle of the pack, and nothing particular stands out in the shortlog of merges this merge window appended below. About half the diff is drivers, with the res being all over: vfs and filesystems, arch updates (although much of that is actually devicetree stuff, so it's arguably more driver-related), tooling, rust support etc etc.
This was one of the good merge windows where I didn't end up having to bisect any particular problem on nay of the machines I was testing. Let's hope that success mostly translates to the bigger picture too.
Linus -
LWN ☛ Kernel prepatch 6.18-rc1
Linus has released 6.18-rc1 and closed the merge window for this development cycle. ""This was one of the good merge windows where I didn't end up having to bisect any particular problem on [any] of the machines I was testing. Let's hope that success mostly translates to the bigger picture too.""
Microsoft/slop:
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Linux Kernel 6.18 Now Available — A Deep Dive Into The Changes
Linus Torvalds has officially announced the availability of the first Release Candidate (RC) for the upcoming Linux 6.18 kernel series, opening the next phase of public testing.